The Army's senior enlisted logistician met with Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support leaders March 2 in Philadelphia to gain a better understanding of the organization's supply chain management.
"This is a partnership with DLA and the Army and we're choosing to really make it stronger today," said Sgt. Maj. Rodger Mansker.
Mansker accompanied Command Sgt. Maj. Sultan Muhammad, DLA's senior enlisted leader, on the visit, which focused on the organization's Clothing and Textiles and Subsistence supply chains.
Among the topics discussed with Clothing and Textiles leadership was the implementation of Radio Frequency Identification technology when issuing clothing and gear to new recruits.
Mansker said currently the clothing issue lines at large recruit training centers take too long and he sees RFID technology as potentially helping to move the process along.
"My goal is to get recruits from end to end as quickly as possible and get them on their way to training," he said.
DLA Troop Support has already begun implementing RFID systems at the Army's RTCs and is working with the Army to improve the process, Steve Merch, the field clothing division chief, said. Mansker also received status updates for the rollout of the Operational Camouflage Pattern and the Army's new physical fitness uniform, along with other C&T initiatives.
Subsistence leadership briefed Mansker on DLA's new Integrated Food Service initiative to contract for not only the food, but also the food services to run dining facilities and galleys.
John Sheehan, Subsistence integrated food service division chief, told Mansker that having DLA lead this initiative could save the Army between 10 to 30 percent on its overall cost to feed soldiers.
The Subsistence team also asked Mansker to consider rethinking the Army's current policies on listing certain operational rations as wartime only items, noting the importance of maintaining a capable and strong industrial base.
"We need to be buying these items during training and peacetime or else we won't have anyone capable of making them during wartime," said Rich Faso, Subsistence customer operations director.
Before leaving DLA Troop Support, Mansker visited the Flag Room, where seamstress hand-embroider the presidential and vice-presidential flag and the Shade Room, where DLA employees check military clothing patterns for shade and color range tolerances.
Chemist and shade analyst Ardra Farally demonstrated a number of different sample patterns under different light conditions, and discussed the steps in ensuring all manufacturers meet military standards.
The trip ended with a visit to DeRossi & Son in Vineland, New Jersey., which manufactures coats for the Army Service Uniform.
Muhammad previously took Mansker to see a similar manufacturing operation at the Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
"We wanted to give him an understanding of how different organizations complete the process," he said. "The sergeant major needs to understand how many operations go into making a single jacket. It's not just pulling something off the shelf."
Mansker said the visit was eye opening to the process that goes on behind the scenes to provide the clothing and equipment the Army uses every day. He added that the visit instilled him with a real sense of confidence in the military's supply chain management.
"When I come out here I see that good processes are in place, and the quality control and the leadership is right," he said. "When I come to a manufacturer like this I can really see where the quality control and the quality assurance are put into what we desire and what we deserve to give our soldiers."
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